Economic Development
Mission
Continually design and implement a comprehensive program to expand business, foster entrepreneurship, attract investment, and market Stafford County as a premier place for business.
Who Are We?
The Department serves as the customer service and marketing arm for Stafford County business clients. We do so by building partnerships with our internal team members, existing businesses, regional partner agencies, the Commonwealth, and beyond. These relationships help us develop programs for sustainable community economic development. Daily, the Department facilitates and responds to opportunities for business investments while working towards mid and long-term strategic objectives. Our focus is characterized by what we do:
Expand Business
- Focusing on existing business, conducting regular business visits (Business Retention and Expansion {BRE}).
- Encourage entrepreneurship and business innovation – connect business leaders with new collaborators, facilitate new business startups and design new programs and events to foster the "acceleration" of startups and existing businesses to their "next level."
Attract Investment
- Respond to new business "leads" and generate our own based on our targeted business sectors.
- Strive to attract visitors (tourism) to Stafford to enjoy Stafford’s history, sports competitions, and quality of life (part of Tourism Program but integrated with Department).
- Attract new private investments and development, focused on our new and expanding target sectors: advanced "tech" manufacturing, corporate office, and cyber expansions to Stafford County.
- In collaboration with Planning, work with developers and others to encourage and secure commercial and mixed-use developments in line with the Board's Strategic priorities.
Market Stafford County (the Message)
- Promote and communicate that Stafford is the place for business in the southern NOVA and the greater Fredericksburg region.
- Market Stafford as a place to start or expand a business, visit, spend time, shop, and move your family or business.
Enhance Stafford’s Tools and Infrastructure
- Identify and seek out funds and properties to build future business sites and “shovel ready” sites for expanding or creating new business.
- Encourage capital investment (private and public) for physical infrastructure to support business and community projects.
- Advise and assist in improving our human infrastructure in Economic Development and Tourism (ED&T) and across County government to improve customer service, permit processes, and staff development.
- Continue to refine and recommend incentives for business growth and expansion.
- Host and serve as a key partner in the Virginia Smart Community Testbed that assists in the devleopment of new technologies to improve local government in Stafford and across the Commonwealth and attract new technology-based business to Stafford.
Since taking all of our marketing plans and implementation “in-house,” we have made significant advancements in how we market Stafford. This year's metrics reflect those changes. We have shifted our metrics (Service Level) to account for expanded online presence. What was "Assist Walkins" is now "New Business Inquiries" to reflect our increased marketing and online presence (this still includes "walk-ins").
Budget Summary
Note: FY2021 Actuals include funding to support local businesses and Economoic Development activity in response to COVID
$753,059 for Restaurant Gift Card program
$2,196,802 CARES Act supported projects
Funded Positions
Notable Changes
Personnel
- 4.0% Pay Scale Adjustment Effective July 1, 2023
- 4.0% Salary Increase Effective on July 1, 2023
- Decrease Vacancy Savings
- Fixed contract increases
Goals/Objectives
The Department continues to use its "Implementation Plan" adopted in 2018-19 to fulfill the goals of the 2015 Economic Growth Strategy. The following Goals or Objectives were identified as “Measurable Actions” in our Implementation Plan and updated quarterly in our quarterly summary reports. These metrics have been updated per FY2023 and again for FY2024.
- The Department regularly meets with 95 existing Stafford businesses to assess their needs and opportunities. This is standard BRE practice (“customer service”) and helps identify opportunities to assist and expand businesses. (Service level 1)
- Based on BRE visits, we anticipate taking additional time and resources to facilitate business expansion projects per fiscal year (targeted at 10 per year). (Service level 2)
- The Department (with EDA support) designs and implements programs to encourage business start-ups and entrepreneurship. We target more direct assistance and to facilitate 15 business startups per fiscal year. (Service level 3)
- With online and in-person outreach the Department seeks to encourage and attract 400 new business startup inquiries per fiscal year. (Service level 4)
- The Department's business marketing efforts will generate 15 new business "leads" per year. (Service level 5)
- Working with our economic development partners (VEDP and FRA), the Department will submit 15 new business proposals to encourage new business ("leads") to Stafford County. (Service level 6)
- Based on our partner and our new business outreach efforts, the Department aims to facilitate or complete ten (10) new business projects per fiscal year. (Service level 7). Note, a "lead" becomes a business project when the inquiry focuses on site opportunities in Stafford.
- Develop and hold business six (6) networking events (programs) to encourage new business investments (Service level 8)
- Attend six (6) business and economic development networking events to encourage new business investment in Stafford (Service level 9)
- Continue to expand and promote use of the economic development website with focus on encouraging user "conversions" and having users contact the department for business development opportunities. Having increase our User rate significantly (35%) as a result of our revised marketing and website in 2023, we intend to maintain 40,000 users per year. (Service level 10)